The terms “fake news,” “yellow journalism,” “unethical journalism,” in the American media can be described by a certain legal term: fraud.
The 2016 Presidential Election exposed the un-apologetic hypocrisy in the American media about journalism ethics. “Yellow journalism” made a comeback unprecedented since its hay days in the 1890s. New York newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World), sensationalized their headlines, and with fraudulent stories to increase their circulation profits.
Granted that some of the public back then were still illiterate. Barbershops were popular in those days where illiterate folks could get a haircut while listening to a barber read the newspapers. And while finishing high school was rare, attending college after high school was still the privilege of the rich.
Fast forward to our time, the Information Age, the ubiquitous power of the social media enhanced the tsunami weight of the information the news media unleashed on the public. The line separating the legitimate “newsrooms” and “texting-rooms” is anymore seamless.
The Rise of Fake News, Clickbait & Ideologies
The mantra of the 1890s Yellow Journalism age was the first to hit the streets with the “Breaking News” of the day. But modern “Fake News” makers are now competing who can throw the first grenade in its competitors’ newsroom.
In a show of contempt for Republican Donald Trump, the mainstream media showed their contempt for Republican Donald Trump by bombarding the public with “fake news” reporting. They insisted that the coronation of Democrat Hilary Clinton was but a formality come November 8th. They created fake news.
Fake News no longer adhere to journalism ethics, such as honesty, forthright, integrity, and truth seeking. Like Yellow Journalism there’s an agenda that drives journalism dishonest behaviors. Online “Clickbait” tricks invite the reader to click on the headline, only to find out the story is fake news, or leading to an advertorial.
Money and power are always the two evils in the realm of big business, and the corruption in today’s American mainstream media is exposed for what they are. They are tools of ideological agendas such as crowning Democrat Hilary Clinton the winner of the 2016 Presidential Election a year and a half before the election.
A New Era in Mass Communications Ethics, Social Media
In 1938, the famous American actor, writer, director, and producer Orson Welles (1915-1985) broadcasted “The War of the Worlds” on radio. He made it sound so real that people did believe aliens were invading the earth; some people reportedly jumped out of high-rise windows to their death; others frantically prepared themselves to die; many panicked and were driven to despair, etc.
Thus, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agency was established to set rules and regulations, and to monitor technological innovations. The agency monitors obscene and indecent broadcast, protects standards for children programming in the electronic media. But newspapers are still self-policing.
Social media devices are now agents of free speech, and anyone can report anything that can become “news.” Hence, President-elect Donald Trump showed the American mainstream-media how he could be the “master of his own ship.”
He reversed the role and send his messages directly to the public using his Tweeter account. Thus, he bypassed the mainstream media’s biased leanings, by talking directly to his followers. Meanwhile, the mainstream media is shut out of the interactions between Donald Trump and the people.
(Sione A. Mokofisi is a LoopTonga contributor living in Tonga, but his opinion does not reflect the editorial policy of this Website. He’s Editor of Niuvākai – Tongan Investigator, and Director of English, Journalism at Tonga International Academy, Havelu, Tongatapu. He holds a MBA from the University of Phoenix-Arizona; BS from BYU-Hawaii. E-mail: editor_niuvakai@yahoo.com).
Photo file: US journalists at a press conference